Going the extra quarter mile

It’s just dawned on me that I’ve
been riding motorcycles for 34 years. It’s difficult to believe that it’s been
that long or in fact I have continued to ride and love bikes for that period of
time. It’s not that I grew up in a “Biker” environment, I do remember my dad
riding a couple of small bike in England and in South Africa, so where my love
of 2 wheels came from is anyone’s guess

Like many teenagers of my
generation when I turned 16 I wanted a motorbike, “I suppose it represented
Freedom and the fact that it made you look older in the eyes or the girls was a
Bonus.

My first “boney”, Slang for
motorbike was a red Honda SS 50 cc that I bought for the handsome sum of R50
way back in 1979. It was a frame with wheels attached and all the parts where
either in a box or checkers packets. I truly believe that Bikers are born, many
people may ride bikes when young, or see them as a cheap mode of transport but
it is only those of us that love the freedom of the open road, the sheer power
of the machine we happen to be riding and the high speeds that they are capable
of achieving that ride for the love of it.

Let’s be honest riding a bike
produces an adrenalin rush that car drivers cannot understand, when your that
close to the elements everything seems to make sense, you concentrate more and
that seems to block all the bullshit out of your mind all your focus is honed
in on that piece of rode at that moment, nothing else matters. The bottom line
is “if riding a bike influences your life, then you are a member of the biking
community”

I have owned various bikes over
the years and there have been a few years where I did not own a bike at all and
would look longingly at those bikers that rode past me, remembering the rides
that I should have been having.

Today, "thanks to my wife" I am the proud owner of a Triumph 1200
Trophy and a Harley Sportster as well as a 150cc Scooter that I use to
commute…………………”yep I commute on a scoot” so what have learnt about biking, bikes and my
fellow bikers in general over the last 34 years?

·If you are meant to be a biker,
no one or nothing will stop you from fulfilling that obsession, biking is in my
blood, “is it in yours” ?

·After 34 years I still have no
idea how an internal combustion engine works or how maintenance work should be
performed on a motorcycle

·I am not the fastest biker in
the world but I have over the years learnt that being smooth is the next best
thing

·Hands should be on your
handlebars and feet on the pegs – ‘I know that this may sound strange, but many
accidents or near misses have occurred due to those body part not being where
they are supposed to be”

·The hardest days on a bike are
the ones you always remember, rain, wind, cold and breakdowns seem to stick in
the mind.

·No matter how safe you are or
think you are there is always potential for harm while riding a bike

·The road is a good listener

·You need eyes in the back of
your head when riding a bike, you have to be proactive and use all of your
senses. Cars have bumpers, bikers have bones.

·I find it amusing that the GS
riders look down at the Harley riders who in turn think that the Superbike guy,
my motto is “The brand of the bike is not important, the fact that u ride is”.

·Every time I ride, I learn
something new

·Never judge a book by its
cover, we may dress like hooligans and seem to be unapproachable but most
bikers have hearts of gold, this is something that I had to learn.

·Bikers themselves while
complaining about “Cage: drivers can themselves be very selfish and take big
chances when riding in traffic………….Note to self – “as bikers we need to set the
example on the roads”.

·Sometimes “Less is more” when
it comes to biking

·You will constantly be
surprised at the goodwill of other bikers

Macdougal and Thomas the donkey

LAST Saturday we, or should I say Gabby rode Maccie D to his new
home and while a number of people were very negative about his move from the
farm to his new home, news is that he is settling in well, has made friends
with the 2 donkey’s and likes the Shetland pony next door, he is eating well
and enjoys the daily rides. Sad news however is that on Tuesday morning Tania
and Gabby found Sweetie pie - our pet
rabbit dead in the pool, it seems that she was frightened and fell in the pool
overnight, and with bunnies not making sounds, we did not hear her and she
unfortunately drowned. I never thought that a rabbit could become such a huge part of the family, but she was a great pet
and she will be sorely missed not only
by us , her human family, but Black cat and Mischief have also noticed her
absence…………… “RIP Bun Bun”.

On Monday I was in Uitenhage at VWSA to do some training, this was
also the day that NUMSA decided that they would embark on their 2 week strike
over better wages and working conditions, arrived at VWSA with a crowd of
singing and dancing NUMSA members (its South Africa, all events, ether sport,
cultural, protest action or strikes are not the same without a bit of a song
and dance). Was a little worried that I would be stopped from entering the
plant but have to say there was no hassle and I fact I stopped for a moment to
hear watch the dancing and singing………………. “The x factor Uitenhage style”

Is Nelson Mandela dead ?? well an article that was on news 24 from a Los Angeles newspaper the Guardian
express (dated 26 June)seems to think he is, in fact the article says that he
died in June prior to his 95th
Birthday, and believe that a huge cover up by the SA government as well
as the cabinet is being perpetrated on both SA citizens and the world. They ask
questions like why are his daughter’s wearing red blankets (a sign of mourning
in the Xhosa tribe) or why both ex-president Bill Clinton or Barrack Obama
where not allowed to visit him ?

The press seems to not be reporting on his state anymore, it was
on the news 24 hours a day and are
family members still visiting the hospital, why had JZ gone to collect an award
on his behalf and not one of his own family members
?.......................mmmm I smell a conspiracy theory.

Rugby this weekend saw the EP Kings thrash the Griffons 63 to 7 this keeps their
season alive and they are now 2nd on the Log a mere 1 point in front
of SWD but a huge 14 points adrift of 1st place Puma’s who have
played 9 and won all of the games. The Cheetahs lost by 3 points to the SHARKS
in a Currie Cup game on Friday night with the Stormers just edging out the Griquas
20/19 and to my utmost disgust the Bulls lost by a huge margin to the Lions . On the
International front, The All Blacks beat the Australians 27 ton 16 and while
the Aussies played better than last week, I have to be honest, The all Blacks
look really good this year”. The Bokke played Argentina at Mendoza and scraped
home 22/17 with the Puma’s playing the better rugby scoring 2 tries to the Boks
1 (last week the Boks crossed the whitewash 9 times) and deserving a win, it
was only 2 penalties in the last 10 mins that saves the Boks embarrassment. The
result was a far cry from last week’s 73/13 massacre. I am a little
apprehensive about our chances against the All Blacks and Australia in the competition,
yes we have won the last 8 in a row, but let’s look at the opposition Italy,
Scotland, Samoa and Argentina, and please get rid of Ruan Pienaar, his service
from the base of the ruck or scrum is mediocre to say the least. On a positive
note it’s the Boks first win away in this competition since 2009.

If you want a laugh then you have to go to U Tube and put in
search Butter Blog…………………I had such a good laugh and I am not sure whether or
not “Tommy” is for real or taking the piss out of himself and Norway……………….’You
decide”

Found this great book in a 2nd hand book store on
Saturday called ‘The mammoth book of bikers” looking forwards to reading
it.

Fly to Richards Bay this afternoon for a couple of days, so got to
get my stuff together.

About Me

I am 50 years young I have a daughter called Gabriella who is 18. I am Proudly South African. I used to live in a small drinking town with a fishing problem but moved to Port Elizabeth in 2009. I have had a pretty interesting life and up until a few years back when a good friend of mine persuaded me to look at writing a political/military book I had never ever thought of writing for pleasure. Not that I think that I am a great writer, but I do enjoy it and I have recently published my first book "The Clarens Chronicles" available from stephend@nosa.co.za. I ride a Harley Davidson 1200 Sportster and I ride as often as I can (not often enough)Having purchased a big boy scooter a couple of years back I am travelling all over PE and surrounds on two wheels and find it awesome. Hopefully with this blog you will get to know more about me, my family and my friends. The Born Warriors Blog is one that i have set up to help collect stories and information on those men and women who have contributed to military history but have never received the credit they have deserved.